I so want to get out and use my lens I had for my Minolta 35mm SLR for the up coming car meets this summer. I have about a good $500-700 in lens I have not used for years because SLR have been so much. The cost of the SLR is going down. Problem is my lens are AF type. Only ones uses them is select Sony models. I just do not like what Sony has out there.

What I am trying to figure out is if there is a good adapter out there to convert my Minolta lens to fit other body styles and not loose my auto focus and other auto settings. I have seen some out there but I loose these auto settings.

I am doing a bunch of looking and I find some things but nothing to confirm if the setup is going to work how I want it to. Thank you for any help.

I just do not have a extra 1K for a complete new camera setup right now. Trying to see if there is any way to get away with a body and adapter setup.

veener79 wrote:
I so want to get out and use my lens I had for my Minolta 35mm SLR for the up coming car meets this summer. I have about a good $500-700 in lens I have not used for years because SLR have been so much. The cost of the SLR is going down. Problem is my lens are AF type. Only ones uses them is select Sony models. I just do not like what Sony has out there.

What I am trying to figure out is if there is a good adapter out there to convert my Minolta lens to fit other body styles and not loose my auto focus and other auto settings. I have seen some out there but I loose these auto settings.

I am doing a bunch of looking and I find some things but nothing to confirm if the setup is going to work how I want it to. Thank you for any help.

I just do not have a extra 1K for a complete new camera setup right now. Trying to see if there is any way to get away with a body and adapter setup. ...Show more →

basicly no. using an adapter (if you can get one to cross platforms) will render you with Manual Focus. and even if you could get one that did it would cost quite a bit.

what you have to think about is there is alot of communication between the body and a modern AF lens . some systems used to use a screw drive AF which was alot more basic and the body did nearly all the work (possibly how yours works)
Most AF systems started like this (Minolts / Pentax / Nikon) as this allowed for a much easier transition to a system as it could have old Manual glass and AF glass . whereas Canon went down the the fully electronic route with the motor and stuff in the lens .
But recently all the other systems have gone down this rout as well , with some bodies now not supporting older screw drive lenses for AF .

I guess you are at a crossroads where you make the choice now on a system . ask yourself what it is you dont like about sony ? their DSLR's of late have had a few good reviews, the new Peli mirror system allows for very good AF pefromance when tracking moving subjects (that said I dont know if they support older screw drive for them).
If you want a system thats well supported with lots of different glass then both Canon and Nikon are good choices as both these have lenses ranging from very wide to super Tele (600-800) .

When I look at Sony it just seems like they are a lot of money for what you get compared to Canon or Nikon. I am not a pro and I am not looking to use this camera for work but from when I use to do a lot of camera work and websites I loved my SLR and I miss it every year at car events. I just can not justify spending about 1K for a camera setup right now. I am not sure about trusting a used DSLR. If I can get just a body I would like to stay at or under the $500 range if I can do it. I know I can do it with Canon or Nikon. Not sure about Sony.

I can find some things on Amazon for a better price. I am not sure about ordering it online. I would like to confirm the lens work first. Even on the Amazon site the do not have the specs for the lens that work with it. Right now I am trying to find out what I can do most of all that is best .

Is Sony going to change from the AF setup then? If Sony is going to change I am wondering in the long run I am better off starting off from scratch and just selling the lens I do have. Just not looking forward to buying another 600 lens if I have to.

well I dont know what sort of costs the sony gear is where you are but (and I say this as a canon shooter) reading the reviews of the lower spec models from the major brands the low end Sony has alot going for it (A55) what is the lens you have now?

the A55 has a screw drive (if you look at images of the mount you can see it). but Sony like nikon and pentax are going down the fully intergrated motor route . sony call it SSM (i think) the technology is similar to the Ring USM motors used by canon in their higher end lenses. Canon (all lenses have their on motors) use 2 different motor types. Micro motor (which includes Micro USM) is a cog and wheele system . its in the cheaper lenses . AF is slower and less precise . the other called Ring USM is found in most (if not all) the L pro grade lenses and many of the better (slightly higher cost) consumer grade lenses. this allows for a much faster more precise AF and is also very quiet.
Nikon are basicly fully going down this route for all their newer lenses. in fact the lower spec bodies have no internal motor and only AF with this type of motor. (i think they call it AF-S)

Pentax are also making some like this now. they call it SDM .

when choosing a body ear in mind the application you want to use it for. lower spec bodies offer great images in general but designed for much more normal usage. if you want to try and AF on a small moving target then lower spec system are just not designed to keep up. you will in all probability get some shots in focus but your hit rate will likely be much lower. there are reasons why high end cameras cost more.

AF performance on moving targets is one area where sony should (i say should as ive never used one) have the advantage. the SLT mirror stays down so you have a fully functioning AF system at all times . normal SLR's the AF sensor is blind while the mirror flips so the camera has to make a best guess on any movement.